“Mercy Cry”

AMBASSADOR MARRON CASSEL is the first appointed ambassador of Liberian Gospel Music. She is known as one of the pioneers in the powerhouse of West African Gospel music. Her story is fantastic, her strength is impeccable, and her wisdom is one loaded with great messages of endurance and encouragement to forge through God’s calling for ministry upon your life no matter the circumstances.

She currently resides in the USA and is stationed in Philadelphia. She travels the various states upon invitation for ministry work as well as professional work with Prime America. She is involved with her Liberian community in the Diaspora. She often creates events through her music ministry that brings other music ministers together to collaborate in giving God praise. In her recent collaboration, she invited Minister Alex Greene from the surrounding Jersey area, and futures him on her current single released on June 8th called “Mercy Cry.” In conversation with her, she shared her experience with the project in response to the following questions.

1) What inspired you to write those lyrics, “We have fallen from your glory and mercy”?

“What inspired me was the fact that the whole world faced the same situation that no one had a solution. Nations and governments became hopeless and helpless. People who felt they had it together could not help themselves. The death tolls increased with hits from COVID. Hence, as I prayed for the world, I saw that we would do well if we all cried out to God for mercy. I didn’t think about recording because everywhere was closed. As I pondered over what to do, I got a call from one of my big brothers, Mr. Voffee Jabateh, (CEO of ACANA). He asked whether I was planning to sing a song of hope to the world during this pandemic. Like an answered prayer, l went forward with the project by connecting with Prince Weh, the manager at ACANA’s studio, as he’d suggested. We agreed, and we scheduled a time to meet.”

2) How did the collaboration come about?

“I thought of no other name but Alex Green after prayerful consideration. When I approached him about it, he accepted, and I sent the song to him. Once he received it, we met at the studio to start.”

3) What was the experience like working together?

“It was a great son and mother working relationship, and I’m thankful to God for His faithfulness through it all. After our first visit to the studio, Alex got inspired by the song and offered support in restructuring the song in some areas while maintaining the central focus, which talks about God’s MERCY.

4) What would you hope that people would get from the song?

“I hope that someone would be encouraged in the assurance of God’s mercy during this. He remains and is still available to us if we cry out to him earnestly.”

Those were her answers rearranged to tie into this blog. The key components to recognize in her answers were her connectedness and sensitivity to know the timing of God as a worshiper. She prayed, and someone called, a confirmation that she should go ahead with the project. Also, she sorted God, and He placed Alex’s name in her heart to partner with for the collaboration. That is amazing! As we communicate with God in our decisions to work on our musical gifts as worshipers, He sends us the needed help to support the ideas we wish to develop.

At the beginning of the preview video, there is something so rich in quality, control, and texture from her vocal abilities as she ministers. She starts in the low to high registers that were so piercing to hear. This signature of hers is poignant in many of her songs. The preview drew great anticipation. However, when the actual video came out, the quality of the video production fell flat in some areas. The instruments or sound quality seemed to overpower the solo components, especially those of Alex’s voice in his first appearance in the video. These were technical issues not fully resolved; it seemed in the mixing and mastering in connection with the video footage. It also appeared to take away from the hype created from the initial preview. We also talked about this in our conversation about this work. Nonetheless, the central focus, which is the lyrics or message that a song evokes, is what is outstanding.

Surely there has been an exceptional “cry out” to God’s “mercy” during this pandemic, and that is precisely why humankind who understands God can be encouraged His grace is sufficient to sustain us. As a worshiper in this pandemic, she cried out to God on behalf of the nations, and she honed in on her priority for bringing forth her idea of “Mercy Cry” through prayer and confirmation of God’s answer. She used the time this season has provided to her benefit to generate a message of hope for believers.

You can watch the full version of the song on YouTube. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=7oVTUuh0B_Q&feature=youtu.be